posted on 2010-10-22, 09:14authored byMark A. Falcous
This thesis explores the manner in which globalisation processes are exerting
transformative influences on local cultural contexts. Specifically, it utilises a case
study of basketball to address the issues surrounding the juncture between local
cultural identities, sport and global processes: the local-global sports nexus.
Characteristic of globalisation processes are the activities of sports-related
transnational corporations (TNCs) in global markets. The presence of such TNCs
raises questions regarding the juncture with ostensibly indigenous cultures and
identities associated with sport. The thesis constitutes several interlocking
components which seek to address the multi-faceted nature of the local-global
basketball interplay. First, a review of literature details both the political-economic
context of the development of 'indigenous' English basketball, and the
interdependencies surrounding National Basketball Association (NBA) expansion to
Britain. Second, media representation within the local-global interplay is addressed in
a comparative textual analysis of NBA and indigenous game coverage on British
television. It is argued that local and global basketball are represented in a varying
manner, which reinforces a local-global basketball hierarchy. Third, a two season
multi-method ethnographic case study, incorporating: participant observations,
interviews, a questionnaire and focus groups explored the consumption of 'local'
basketball. The findings reveal complex responses and engagement with global
processes, contextualised by the heterogenous nature of basketball fandom.
Specifically, local identities and affiliations, while associated with consumption, also
mediate broader global processes. The findings are discussed with reference to the
relationship between local and global basketball in. Britain and within the wider
theoretical debates surrounding the globalisation of sport.